Customer Reviews

HP KQ245AA Premium Autofocus Webcam

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This camera has worked well for my purpose, which is just talking with my girlfriend on Skype while she's away. It has good clarity, although if you move around too much, the autofocus seems to get a little confused and the picture becomes blurry, but it's easy to quickly "refresh" the camera by turning video off, then back on. My biggest complaint is it seems to freeze up quite a bit, while my girlfriend's webcam that came built in to her Toshiba laptop never freezes. When it freezes, sometimes I'll have to "refresh" the camera and sometimes it will unfreeze itself. Also, in order to have a clear enough picture, the camera needs a fair amount of light, so don't try to use it in the dark - you won't be able to see anything!

I was really looking forward to receiving this webcam based on the reviews here, and because of the specs. Also, I was lucky enough to grab it during a temporary price drop, making it a huge bargain. However, the image quality is so poor, it isn't worth even the relatively low price I paid.

The image on the PC it is hooked up to is grainy and fuzzy. The only way I could get the picture to look half way decent on its "home" PC was within one of the bazillion ArcSoft application the CD installs. The video on the other end of Skype calls is close to unwatchable. And, there is no way to adjust the resolution within the driver's webcam settings.

Who uses these useless applications anyway? It is a WEB cam. Its main purpose is for video communications across the WEB. So, the only software necessary is the driver software. AND, that driver software needs to be able to utilize the full resolution and capability of the webcam.

Unfortunately, this piece o crap is going back to Amazon. I'll just have to get another Creative Optia or perhaps try a Logitech 9000 which seems to get great reviews. (Then again, this one got some good ones, too.)

Pros: 1. Auto focus
2. Really good video quality with actual 2MP sensor
3. Quick and easy buttons for taking pictures, recording video
4. Versatile mounting options (two brackets included)
5. Video and sound in single USB link
6. Great build quality

Cons: Um, didn't find any at the moment

This camera is really worth for its price. I have purchased several other brands prior to this, but none of them gave a picture quality of this good. In fact, it performs as well as my Sony VAIO built-in Web cam. It can handle low light conditions fairly well. I really like the fact that it has just one USB wire for both video and sound (makes your life easy with less wires). It has two mounting brackets to suit your desktop or laptop.

I am using it with Windows7, Windows Vista Home Premium, and Ubuntu 9.04. It works equally well in all these OSs. No installation needed with Ubuntu 9.04. So if you are looking for a good cam to use with Skype, this is one choice you can go with.

The bottom line is, it's a really good camera for a price less than $50.

The camera worked just fine with the Skype software. I would say my computer is kind of outdated, like an HP 512MB of RAM, and 1.4GHz in a Celeron M processor.

I thought about buying a Logitec camera first but decided to risk it and give this camera a try, so to keep only on computer hardware manufacturer.

I am glad I did, and I do not regret buying it. The image is very clear, and the cool autofocus function works great.

Length:: 1:21 Mins

Just a short video to compare the quality of the HP KQ245AA Premium Autofocus Webcam to that of the built-in iSight on my MacBook Pro laptop. Other pros and cons (for me) ...

Pros:
- Installation: On my Mac, I just plugged it in and it was auto-detected by Skype. Not having to install software is always a good thing.
- Autofocus: I didn't test this rigorously, but seems to work well enough for most purposes.
- Mount: The bracket it comes with holds it securely on both my Mac and my larger LCD monitor. It also comes with a 2nd bracket designed specifically for laptops, so you shouldn't have any problems in this department.
- Price: $35 at the time of this review, can't complain.

Cons:
- Picture quality: This is the showstopper. As other reviewers have pointed out, the picture is noticeably grainier than other webcams. I suspect this is in part because HP has pushed the exposure to make the cam work better in low-light conditions, but even taking that into account, the picture is disappointing. It's not unusable, just not great.
- Field of view: This was the biggest disappointment for me. I was actually looking for a wide-angle cam and mistakenly read "wide angle microphone" as "wide angle camera". I figured this out before the unit arrived, but I was nonetheless disappointed to find the field-of-view was *worse* than the built-in camera on my Macbook.

I seem to have a lot of issues with power cords these days, and my webcam history has been no exception. My laptop did not originally come with a webcam, and after wanting to talk with quite a few friends/family online face-to-face, I decided to buy one. My first purchase was a low-end Logitech cam from Wal-mart--after just a few months of heavy use, the power cord gave out. Though the product was under warranty, I fought with the Logitech support line (which require half an hour of searching online to get the number for--since the warranty booklet linked you to the website, which linked you to the WRONG place at least 3 times, and actually at one point told you "call the number, listed on XXX page"--where XXX page specifically stated that it didn't list a number!) When I finally got ahold of someone, I was promise an email with further support information and a package to mail my camera back in within a month. The email I received as a satisfaction survey, and I NEVER received the package.

Aggravated beyond all belief, I vowed off of Logitech and went hunting once more, and ended up purchasing this one, after reading the reviews!

This has been a great camera for me. Two of the people I talk to most have cameras built in to their laptops, and the picture is generally not very good and almost non-existent in low-light situations.
This camera, however, usually does quite well! I no longer have the Arcsoft software installed, but my computer auto-installed the driver without much fuss. I will note that if you lose the CD, you're pretty much out of luck! You'll have to count on the computer installing it's own drivers, because the software/drivers don't really seem to be offered anywhere online (that I could find!)
I usually use this camera with disposable chat services like tinychat, mebeam, or tokbox, and it always works wonders. The picture looks fantastic in comparison to whoever I'm talking with, and adjusts automatically quite well!

In response to the complaint I read about Skype... To be honest, I've had that same issue with both this camera and my last--I don't think it's a problem with the camera so much as it is a problem with Skype. While this camera has worked wonderfully in all of the free, non-software, non-signup services I listed above, it hasn't worked well with Skype. That leads me not to blame the camera itself, though!

This is my second camera I purchased within a month. I use one on my desktop when I am home, and I use one for my laptop when I travel. Very good quality camera by HP. The software that it came with was up to date and is easy to use. Very good camera for Skype. Found no problems with the camera for my use.

Good for the Price...Fits my LCD screen perfectly, but it says That bring headphones...Where they are? -.-

Everything on this webcam is as described- the autofocus works well, the video quality is great, and and the microphone picks up sound very well. It was very easy to set up and to use.

I needed a webcam to use on a Mac Mini and a PC with Skype. Did a bit of reading and decided that this HP cam might fit the bill. Came on Amazon and read the conflicting reviews - however more reviewers said it was a decent cam with little effort on the Mac platform. Took the plunge and purchased a used cam with no frills. Installed on my Mac mini and it worked 'instantly' in all video apps. No tweaking. No software required. GREAT audio capture as well -solves the 'problem' of not having amplified microphone input on the Mac mini... Kinda grainy video, but not outside the norm for the average webcam (adjust your local lighting for best effect - read: purchase a darn desk lamp!) Good adjustability. Buttons on top do not work on Mac - but you really don't need them...

Works fine on PC with all features active. Software could be more refined - but does the job.

Device fits HP monitors such as L2035, L2335 with a deeper bezel. Very stable. But I could see how a thinner bezel might offer a slightly shakier fit.